The Utinga State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Utinga) is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

within the metropolitan area of

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, Pará, Brazil. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Belém Environmental Protection Area, which protects a large part of the water supply of the city.

Location

The Utinga State Park is in the city of Belém, Pará, within the Metropolitan Belém Environmental Protection Area (APA). It has an area of . It is divided between the municipalities of

(99%) and Ananindeua (1%). It is just a few kilometers from the city center. The park is a fully protected conservation unit, so direct exploitation of resources such as hunting or fishing in the lakes is prohibited. Sustainable use of natural resources is allowed in the APA, which covers the entire catchment area of the Água Preta and Bolonha lakes and the Aurá River.

History

The Metropolitan Belém Environmental Protection Area (APA) was created by decree 1.551 of 3 May 1993 in the municipalities of Belém and Ananindeua, with an area of about , administered by the state environmental secretariat (SEMA). The Utinga State Park was created by decree 1.552 of 3 May 1993. The management plan was published in 1994. The goals are to extend the useful life of the Bolonha and Água Preta lakes, which supply about 60% of the population of the metropolitan region, and ensure water potability through management of water sources and recovery of degraded areas; to protect the landscape, forests and other types of vegetation, preserve representative samples of biodiversity as a gene bank and protect animals that take refuge in the park due to expansion of the surrounding urban areas; and to preserve a green space to improve the quality of life of the population and support scientific, cultural, educational and recreational activities and tourism. The management council was created by ordinance 1.365 of 8 July 2009, and includes representatives from government agencies such as SEMA, universities such as the

Federal University of Pará The Federal University of Pará ( pt, Universidade Federal do Pará, UFPA) is one of the three Public university, public universities maintained by the Brazilian Federal government of Brazil, federal government in the States of Brazil, state of ...

and

Universidade da Amazônia The Universidade da Amazônia (English: ''University of Amazon''; often abbreviated as UNAMA) is a Catholic, private university in the Brazilian state of Pará. Established in 1993, it was the first private university in the North of Brazil. ...

, and civil society groups such as Imazon, community associations and so on. By 2011 the management plan no longer met current environmentalist and legal standards, and an update was initiated, which was published in August 2013 The updated plan was prepared by

Imazon Imazon (Amazon Institute of People and the Environment, pt, Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia) is a non-profit organisation based in Belém, Pará, Brazil, that is dedicated to conserving the Amazon rainforest. It has published many ...

, the Institute of Man and the Environment of the Amazon.

Activities

The park provides a space for healthy activities in contact with nature by local people, visitors or tourists. Visitors are expected to enjoy the park quietly and refrain from deploy any sort of litter. There are eight treks, all providing direct contact with various species of flora and fauna. The most popular is the monkey trek, which takes about 40 minutes and goes from Bolonha lake to the visitor center, where other activities are available. Guided tours are available for groups of 7 to 35 people. Visitors can also learn about the water treatment plant that supplies Belém.

Environment

The vegetation is in the

Amazon biome The Amazon biome ( pt, Bioma Amazônia) contains the Amazon rainforest, an area of tropical rainforest, and other ecoregions that cover most of the Amazon basin and some adjacent areas to the north and east. The biome contains blackwater and white ...

and includes terra firme forest, secondary forest and

igapó Igapó (, from Old Tupi: "root forest") is a word used in Brazil for blackwater-flooded forests in the Amazon biome. These forests and similar swamp forests are seasonally inundated with freshwater. They typically occur along the lower reaches of ...

flooded forest, as well as aquatic vegetation. The flora of the APA is very rich, and contributes environmental services to the city such as regulating the microclimate, ensuring soil stability, conserving good quality water, cleaning the air and storing carbon. Trees include the '' Carapa'' (andiroba), which gives seeds with medicinal properties, the huge ''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

'' (samaúma) and the

Brazil nut The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...

. A quick ecological assessment of fauna in the park identified 25 species of fish, 7 species of amphibians, 26 species of reptiles, 193 species of birds, 3 species of small mammals and 23 of medium and large mammals. Common fauna in the APA include spiders such as

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

Brazilian wandering spider ''Phoneutria'' is a genus of spiders in the family (biology), family Ctenidae. Phoneutria venom is potentially medically significant to humans. They are mainly found in northern South America, with one species in Central America. Members of t ...

recluse spider The recluse spiders (''Loxosceles'' (), also known as brown spiders, fiddle-backs, violin spiders, and reapers, is a genus of spiders that was first described by R. T. Lowe in 1832. They are venomous spiders known for their bite, which sometimes ...

s and ''Sibynomorphus mikanii''; snakes such as water snakes,

Coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungar ...

s, false corals, ''

Bothrops jararaca ''Bothrops jararaca'' — known as the ''jararaca'' or ''yarara'' — is a highly venomous pit viper species endemic to South America in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The specific name, ''jararaca'', is derived from the Tup ...

'',

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used ...

s, '' Corallus hortulanus'', ''

Oxybelis fulgidus ''Oxybelis fulgidus'', commonly known as the green vine snake or the flatbread snake (not to be confused with green-colored species in the genus ''Ahaetulla'', which are also referred as "green vine snake"), is a species of long, slender, arbore ...

'', ''

Chironius ''Chironius'' is a genus of New World colubrid snakes, commonly called sipos (from the Portuguese word ''cipó'' for liana), savanes, or sometimes vine snakes. There are 23 described species in this genus. Species The following 23 species are ...

'' and ''Sibynomorphus mikanii''; amphibians such as ''

Hylomantis granulosa ''Hylomantis granulosa'', also known as the granular leaf frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil where it is only known from Amargosa, Bahia, and Recife; the type locality is the Zoo Botan ...

'', ''

Rhinella ''Rhinella'', commonly known as South American toads, beaked toads or Rio Viejo toads, is a genus of true toads native to Neotropical parts of Mexico, Central and South America. Additionally, the cane toad has been introduced to Australia, the Ca ...

'', ''

Leptodactylus labyrinthicus ''Leptodactylus labyrinthicus'' is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. Its common names are labyrinth frog, pepper frog, South American pepper frog, and pepper foam frog. This frog is found in central and southeastern Brazil, northe ...

'' and ''Tropidurus semitaeniatus'', reptiles such as

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his bo ...

and spectacled caiman; primates such as

robust capuchin monkey Robust capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Sapajus''. Formerly, all capuchin monkeys were placed in the genus ''Cebus''. ''Sapajus'' was erected in 2012 by Jessica Lynch Alfaro et al. to differentiate the robust (tufted) capuchin ...

common squirrel monkey Common squirrel monkey is the traditional common name for several small squirrel monkey species native to the tropical areas of South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern ...

pale-throated sloth The pale-throated sloth (''Bradypus tridactylus''), occasionally known as the ai (), is a species of three-toed sloth that inhabits tropical rainforests in northern South America. It is similar in appearance to, and often confused with, the brow ...

; and other mammals such as

coati Coatis, also known as coatimundis (), are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera ''Nasua'' and ''Nasuella''. They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The name ...

paca A paca is a member of the genus ''Cuniculus'' of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America. It is the only genus in the family Cuniculidae. Pacas are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and ...

common agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America (Americas), Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have ...

and capybara. Birds include

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five ge ...

s, black-necked aracari (''Pteroglossus aracari''),

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s, Amazon kingfisher (''Chloroceryle amazona''),

collared puffbird The collared puffbird (''Bucco capensis'') is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V ...

(''Bucco capensis''),

great kiskadee The great kiskadee (''Pitangus sulphuratus''), called ''bem-te-vi'' in Brazil and ''benteveo'' in Argentina, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Pitangus''. It breeds in open woodl ...

(''Pitangus sulphuratus''), cream-colored woodpecker (''Celeus flavus''), neotropic cormorant (''Phalacrocorax brasilianus''),

anhinga The anhinga (; ''Anhinga anhinga''), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word ''anhinga'' comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means ...

(''Anhinga anhinga''), bananaquit (''Coereba flaveola''), plain parakeet (''Brotogeris tirica''),

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

(''Ardea alba''),

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

(''Tyto alba''),

laughing falcon The laughing falcon (''Herpetotheres cachinnans''), also called the snake hawk (erroneously, since it is not a hawk), is a medium-sized bird of prey in the falcon family ( Falconidae), the only member of the genus ''Herpetotheres''. This Neotro ...

(''Herpetotheres cachinnans''),

bat falcon The bat falcon (''Falco rufigularis'') is a falcon that is a resident breeder in tropical Mexico, Central and South America, Trinidad. It was long known as ''Falco albigularis''; the names ''Falco fusco-coerulescens'' or ''Falco fuscocaerulesce ...

(''Falco rufigularis''), southern lapwing (''Vanellus chilensis''),

pauraque The pauraque (''Nyctidromus albicollis'') – also called the common pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, one of two birds in the genus ''Nyctidromus''. It breeds in the subtropical and tropical regio ...

(''Nyctidromus albicollis''),

wattled jacana The wattled jacana (''Jacana jacana'') is a wader which is a resident breeder from western Panama and Trinidad south through most of South America east of the Andes. Breeding The wattled jacana lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating n ...

(''Jacana jacana''), chestnut-bellied seed finch (''Oryzoborus angolensis'') and tropical screech owl (''Megascops choliba''). As of 2013 the process of indemnifying former owners was incomplete. Issues included illegal entry, hunting and fishing, construction of irregular housing, unregulated leisure activities, disposal of household waste and sewage in the lakes, and trimming of trees in the ELETRONORTE and COSANPA power corridors.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Utinga State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1993 1993 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Pará